To NAM Or Not To NAM...

[Daddy-O 1]

... that is the question.

I have read that NAM is a MAJOR mod of SimCity4.  It fundamentally changes the game.  Do I want to do this?  I don't mind adding custom art to a game, but I usually try to stay away from changes that make it a different game from the original.

I know that the NAM allows some new options, but why should I modify an enjoyable game so radically?

If I install the NAM today, what about my non-NAM cities?  Are they still playable?

Is the NAM easily uninstalled?

Please weigh in.  To NAM or not to NAM...

[Constantina 5]

It is best to make backups of your cities befoore installing NAM. The modd only adds extra content to your computer, like other custom content. If you read the installer instructions carefully, you can tell the installer to keep the traffic and automata unchanged. You don't have to install turning lanes if you don't want to.

Your non-NAM cities can still function in SimCity 4with the NAM, and it is un-installable.

[Daddy-O 1]

Thank you Constantina. Now the NAM doesn't sound quite as scarey. Do you use NAM? With or without changes to traffic and automata?

Anybody else have NAM comments?

[buddybud 63]

nam is god...lol... and i wouldnt call it radical anymore than the comon bat. its only radical in the sense that so much time and effort has been put into it.

i myself have used it since i first arrived here. the only tweak i use is perfect path finding...cause i hate it when my sims cant find their jobs...other than that i stick to the standard setup.

[spa 968]

I use an older version of the NAM that doesn't have turning lanes or ground light rail. I pick the better pathfinding option instead of the perfect pathfinding and I increase the commute time and speed slightly. Having used the NAM I would never play without it again. That said, I'm leery of upgrading to the newer versions because the NAM is a real system hog.

[manu-fan 0]

Hi,

In real life, people are pretty perfect pathfinders. They adjust based on time it takes to commute etc.

That's why I would never play without the NAM again. More realistic.

SC4/RH was bad for it's commute algorithms.

Cheers.

[jackel.22 3]

i use the better path finding thing and the commute time +capacity options. it does slow up the game but it also speeds it up if you get what i mean. with nam its much easier to creat realistic cities, the round-about feature is especially good.

any way just be wary of the glr stuff because they can crash the game if hovered ontop of a transit enabled lot.

[Daddy-O 1]

So, NAM is a resource hog & if I hover over a NAM transit lot SC4 crashes? That doesn't sound like a selling point.

[prince_of_sims 0]

NAM may be a resource hog, and it may have it's problems (hey, we're not professional modders here, we're not messing around with the source code, and can't fix Maxis's faults), but NAM is still the best add-on for the SimCity game there is. It adds so many things that even with the tiny little problems, just by simply being careful and working around them, it's worth it.

[Daddy-O 1]

Don't get me wrong. I'm not looking to nuke the NAM. A ton of people seem very happy with it. I'm just looking for reason that I will be happy with it. So, far people seem in favor of the NAM.

[jmjselect 0]

If you don't use NAM you sc4 experience is DAMNED. The only thing that is bad about it is that you can't make diagnal road/street/avenue/highway/rail/bla bla bla connections any more.

BUT it's well worth it

[greyveil 37]

I make diag connections of all kinds with it, don't exactly know what that comment was about,

Daddy, the best thing to do is just install it, if you don't like it you can remove it, but trust me you wont regret the time you took to install it, I too would not even think about playing the game without the NAM, not only does it add a ton of transit network content, but it also fixes alot of the path finding bugs that maxis did not fix in rush hour.

If you need any help with the install or any further questions just PM me I will be happy to help.

EDIT: they say a picture is worth a 1000 words, well heres the picture..

[Darmok 34]

Without the NAM the game is a simple game....

With the NAM, SC4 is now more than it was and closer to reality, with tons of options and great looks!

Sure it's a HOG, but if you have lots of RAM the difference in performance is not so dramatic and it's a very small price to pay for such a great mod!

Go for it, and as Greyveil said, you don't like it, you simply uninstal it.

Do remember that regular backups are a good thing (NAM or no NAM)

Have fun!

[Marty22 0]

Daddy-O, I got the rush hour and the NAM at the same time, so sometimes i'm not quite sure whether a feature is a RH or NAM feature. As i have a fast computer (for the first time in my life), the extra processor capacity required doesnt bother me. I think the NAM is absolutely awesome, allows you to create more realistic cities, which is what i like to do, it gives you more flexibility with your transportation.

As for crashing - it only does when you hold a nam puzzle pieze over a transit enabled lot (like a train station) and it happened to me only once or twice - no big dramas, it's the easiest thing not to hover over the city with a big highway interchange piece. So yeah, I vote yes for NAM :-)

[Daddy-O 1]

I just downloaded NetworkAddonMod_PC_050930.zip.  I see the exe, but there is no readme.html.  Where do I get this from?

[Bones1 96]

I think you got the version that is an installation program. If you run it, it will intall NAM and probably dump a bunch of help files in whatever directory it installs to. I used the Mac version of NAM, which doesn't use an installer and you can install the files yourself. (The Mac version is also PC compatible.)

[Daddy-O 1]

You are correct, sir! I found the MAC/non-EXE version.

Now to find that SimCity4 Startup manager...

...found it:

http://www.simszone.de/simcity4/downloads/sc4startupmanager_en.php

[Awful Waffles 0]

NAM gives you some new things you will probably want, the custom interchanges and the new parallel ramps are just a couple of examples.  The intersection turning lanes are cool too... too much to mention.  Get it.  You can also install it so that it doesn't effect much as far as the game goes other than giving you new options, choose standard from the installer.

I'm not one who likes to alter the game in radical ways and I am very happy with NAM.

[jmjselect 0]

Originally posted by: greyveil

I make diag connections of all kinds with it, don't exactly know what that comment was about,

Daddy, the best thing to do is just install it, if you don't like it you can remove it, but trust me you wont regret the time you took to install it, I too would not even think about playing the game without the NAM, not only does it add a ton of transit network content, but it also fixes alot of the path finding bugs that maxis did not fix in rush hour.

If you need any help with the install or any further questions just PM me I will be happy to help.

EDIT: they say a picture is worth a 1000 words, well heres the picture..

quote>

you can make diagnle neighboring city connections?  I've tried it with NAM(no diagnal connections) and without NAM(able to make diagnal connections).

what am I doing wrong?

[Daddy-O 1]

OK. I can live without diagonal neighbor connections.  I loaded the NAM with perfect pathfinding.  WOW!  This will take some practice.  There is SO much.

One issue, I still can't make diagonal streets.  I verified that NetworkAddonMod_Diagonal_Streets_Plugin_Beta.dat is in my plugins folder.  Does "Beta" mean it does not work?  Is there an update that I have missed?

Thanks everyone.

[TinySim 4]

Well, you can't drag them diagonally, you have to make a lot of turns after each other...

(Sorry for the fuzzy explanation, english is not my first language )

[jmjselect 0]

1 street up/down, 1 street left/right, 1 street up/down, 1 street left/right. is that easier?

[Kippis05 2]

That's very confusing. But yes, that's how you make diagonal streets. It's a little tricky, but well worth it. You need to make the street by laying it down one tile at a time, and build a zig zag pattern, like a staircase.

S= street tile

                     S  S

                S  S

           S  S

      S  S

S   S

Then, start dragging the street tool thru these tiles diagonaly, and instant diagonal streets. Hope that helps at all.

[amdinside 2]

I too have been hesitant to modify SC4 but this discussion shows a lot of positive votes for it. That interchange shown by Awful Waffles is just the ticket for a two interstate exchange. I use Tees instead of the clover leaf because the clover leaf is huge.

I also grow tired of upgrading streets due to traffic complaints when larger roads/ave/interstates nearby are hardly used. The pathfinding in NAM takes care of this?

[newyorkstate 6]

What do you mean modify the game radically? NAM is great for good! Excellent! It makes things more real, not radical!

[Bones1 96]

Yeah, NAM is pretty innocuous, so long as you don't install the optional cheats like increasing commute time or road capacity.

[Daddy-O 1]

Originally posted by: newyorkstate What do you mean modify the game radically? NAM is great for good! Excellent! It makes things more real, not radical!quote>

It might make things more real, but that does not mean that it isn't a radical change of the game.

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When installing NAM, what is the prefered option to install with?  There are many.

[Iamamayor 0]

I think nam is a nice thing, there's no way to download it though. I wonder what happened to download mods section of Simtropolis.

[Daddy-O 1]

I got a chance to practice with the NAM yesterday. The use of puzzle pieces is new to me. It will take some time to build but will be well worth it.

Now, where is my GLR? I thought the NAM came with GLR.

--------------------

@ iamamayor

Go here:

https://www.simtropolis.com/modding/index.cfm?page=1&view=all

NAM for Windows is usually listed as #1 in the top 50.  You will need to search for NAM for Mac.

[Daddy-O 1]

OK. I found GLR. Now, what about the stations/stops? How do people get on and off?